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| | 1. Free-diving, WHOI biologist Jesús Pineda
checks the line securing two below-surface buoys to his mooring on a
coral reef in the Red Sea, in June 2008. The buoys bear Arabic script,
identifying them as belonging to King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST.) Pineda's study forms part of a project in collaboration with
KAUST to assess the health of corals off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Anchored 23m (69 ft) deep, the mooring carries instruments that will
measure variability in temperature and salt content at several depths,
and may also reveal underwater "internal waves" that can influence water conditions and food supply around the corals.
(Photo by Paula Peres-Brunius, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | 2. Researchers in the WHOI Computerized
Scanning and Imaging Facility produced this high-resolution CT scan
image of a human cochlea, an organ inside the inner ear, as well as
cochlea images from a dozen other different land and marine mammals.
Scientists compared the curvature of the cochleas to uncover a secret
about why they have spiral shapes.
(Photo courtesy WHOI Computerized Scanning and Imaging (CSI) Facility) | | 3. Over the last 10 years, Mary Carman has documented how slimy sea
squirts have invaded coastal New England, multiplying on rocks, docks,
boat bottoms, moorings, and other hard surfaces. Their rubbery bodies
create a nuisance and, perhaps more importantly, render some areas
uninhabitable for native species of oysters, mussels, scallops, and other marine life. Until the summer of 2008, Carman had only rarely seen the creatures anchoring
themselves to softer structures. So she did a double take when she
spotted two sea squirts that she studies, known to scientists as Didemnum vexillum and Diplosoma listerianum,
clinging to acres of underwater eelgrass. The thick, waving meadows of
eelgrass provide crucial nurseries for sea life, and are a prime
habitat for prized shellfish—bay scallops.
(Photo by Amy Nevala, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | 4. During her spring 2008 research cruise to study
the Bering Sea
ecosystem, chief scientist Carin Ashjian of Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution visited St. Lawrence Island. There, she met with
hunters Tom Antoghame (left) and Merlin Koonooka (right) to hear their
insights
into the changing Arctic climate.
(Photo by Jeffrey Stewart, U.S. Coast Guard) | | 5. WHOI biologist Don Anderson (left) and
oceanographer Dennis McGillicuddy review the results of a computer
simulation of the 2008 season for Alexandrium fundyense—a toxic form of algae—in New England waters, which began on April 1.
A combination of abundant beds of algal seeds and excess
winter precipitation in the Northeast U.S. have set the stage for a potentially big bloom. The research team has been working on a computer model to predict the
intensity and location of blooms of the toxic algae.
(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | 6. Biologist Tim Shank in his lab.
(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | 7. From the deck of the USCGC Healy in the Bering Sea, WHOI
research associate Phil Alatalo (left) and LTJG Stephen Elliot (right)
deploy the Video Plankton Recorder, a towed instrument that takes
images of small plankton near the bottom of the marine food chain.
(Photo by Carin Ashjian, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | 8. Biologist Darlene Ketten (at left) introduces a group
of WHOI trustees to the study of marine mammal anatomy and hearing during a tour of the Computerized
Scanning and Imaging (CSI) facility in the Marine Research Facility.
With state-of-the-art biomedical imaging equipment to examine intact animals,
and a hospital-quality necropsy room for dissections, the facility has become a magnet for
veterinarians and marine mammal researchers in the Northeast.
(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | 9. Research associate Alexi
Shalapyonok (foreground), and plankton biologists Heidi
Sosik and Rob Olson load the FlowCytobot onto the
coastal boat Mytilus. Based on
the principles of the biologist's flow cytometer, the Cytobot is an automated underwater microscope that
detects and counts tiny plants and animals in the ocean. In March 2008, a newer
version of the instrument unexpectedly detected the toxic alga Dinophysis acuminata in the Gulf of Mexico. WHOI biologists Olson and Sosik developed
the instrument as a basic research tool, but they are now helping to design and
buid a version for commercial use.
(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | | 10.
Marine mammal specialist Michael
Moore and WHOI guest student Colby Moore (from the College of the
Atlantic) prepare to examine a white-sided dolphin that had stranded and died
on a beach in Wellfleet, Mass., in January 2008. Every year,
researchers from around the world come to the specialized
facilities at WHOI to perform necropsies and other post-mortem studies of marine creatures.
(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) | Last updated: June 23, 2009 |
